The Top 100 Songs of 2011 -- #80: "Second Chance" -- Peter Bjorn and John

The Swedes known collectively as Peter Bjorn and John have yet to repeat (or really even come close to matching) the success of 2006's sleeper hit "Young Folks," a catchy little ditty with a whistleline for the ages. But with "Second Chance," off this year's Gimme Some, they came as close as they ever have to doing so.

"Second Chance" utilizes one of the facets of "Young Folks" that made it so damn popular and catchy -- an innocuous backing vocal to complement lead singer Peter Moren's retro-ish voice. In "Young Folks" it was the whistling. Here, it's a refrain of "oohs" that creates the earworm likely to be stuck in your head for quite some time.

Of course, that isn't the song's only allure. Moren's easygoing, relaxed vocal (really a standard for him, I suppose) makes the chorus all the more delicious.

Plus, cowbell. COWBELL.



Peter Bjorn and John may always be judged based on "Young Folks" (look! I'm doing it now!), but with music like "Second Chance," along with songs such as the breakneck "Breaker Breaker" off the new record, the three-piece shows they can still hold their own in this always-changing industry.